Page 43 - Indulge December/January 2017
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It’s that time of year when holiday and given a unique number (on the they can be
shopping tops your to-do list. To show bottom of its foot). “Nothing brightens personalized.
you’re “in-the-know” this season for the a holiday like an unforgettable You can
homeowners on your list, you want gifts monochromatic menagerie,” Morris select from
that are unique, fun, environmentally says. Squirrels: $38 in store/$55 monograms
friendly, made in America, and come online with shipping. Raccoons: $48 in and/or special
from the heart — or so our survey of area store/$64 online with shipping. Mice: verses on
home retailers shows. Here are ideas for $12 in store/$18 online with shipping. At the front and
10 hot gifts and where you can get them. Mercantile Home in downtown Easton. you can even
Recipients are sure to be pleased. place personal
5. Wine-bottle accessories messages on the
1. Holiday Birdie Cottage Treat back. The recipient
Speaking of wine, relatively can use one in the
These fun, bird-food-covered inexpensive but attractive gifts are wine- kitchen, hang one on a
birdhouses are designed to draw a variety bottle accessories. The Pottery Barn wall, or prop one on an easel
of feathered friends to the owner’s yard. offers a number of wine bags, including as a functioning piece of art. Prices
Measuring about 6 inches tall, they are faux fur chinchilla, velvet, plaid with vary depending on size, beginning at
handmade and decorated in the USA. Sherpa trim and polka-dot-embroidered around $45. At House Splendid.
“Once the seed is nibbled away, the birds bags. You also can turn your wine bottle
may nest in the box for years to come,” into a reindeer with a knitted top that 8. Malvern cheese board
says Donata Kelly, assistant manager of comes complete with antlers and a red
the Moravian Book Shop in Bethlehem. nose. Prices start at $10.50. At Pottery The Malvern cheese board is
$13.95. Available online and at Moravian Barn in the Lehigh Valley Mall and at made from bamboo, a type of grass
Book Shop. potterybarn.com. (not a tree) that is renewable. This is
another unique gift because it has
2. Enamelware serving trays a large cracker-serving tray around
the entire cheese board and a
These versatile trays can be used hidden drawer that stores the cheese
to bake or to serve. They also can be tools. It costs $71. At GailGray
paired with a pewter stand, creating Home Furnishings.
an instant side table wherever you
choose. Available in festive designs Photo courtesy of Mercantile 9. Single-serve December/January 2017 • indulge | 43
and classic colors, they make a handy,
elegant accent piece. Trays are about 6. Beer Bag cofOfneee-csuypscotfefememsakers have
20 inches in diameter. About $50. At
House Splendid in Emmaus. Speaking of alcoholic beverages, been popular for a while now, says
a theme for this year’s hot items, Shoshana Gosselin of Love Your
3. Wine-bottle umbrella Mercantile Home’s popular Beer Home in Emmaus. And they still
Bag is always a hit with local brew haven’t gone out of fashion, she says.
This falls in the “unique” category. lovers. These drawstring bags made Keurig Hot Systems start at about
It’s an umbrella in a plastic cover that is from up-cycled fabrics are a great $29 and, depending on features, can
made to look like a wine bottle when it way to dress up and carry beer to a cost up to about $180. At Kohls, Bed
is closed. It comes in white, red, green, party or your favorite BYOB restaurant Bath & Beyond, Macy’s and others.
and black. $23. At GailGray Home or event, Morris says. As the cute
Furnishings and Design in the Promenade packaging says, “Why should wine 10. Thymes Frasier Fir
Shops at Saucon Valley. have all the fun?” $10. At Mercantile home fragrance line
Home. When hung up at home, they’re
4. Colorful ceramic a conversation piece. They also reflect You can please homeowners with
critters the “made from recyclables” theme gifts of candles, room spray, reed
that promises to be popular this year. diffusers, hand lotion and soaps
These cheery critters with Frasier fir scents. These items
are bright, quirky and 7. Maple leaf customizable combine ultimate luxury with the
creative, says Ron Morris fresh fragrance of the outdoors, Kelly
cutMtaipnleglbeaofacrusdtosmizable cutting says. But what makes these gifts
of Mercantile Home “hot” is that they’re part of the give-
in Easton. Each boards are a unique gift because back movement that’s so popular. For
ceramic critter every product sold, a tree is planted.
(from 5 to 18 inches The products come with wooden
cards that include coordinates to the
tall) is cast and plot where your tree will be planted.
fired locally, painted Prices range from $15 to $52. Online
and at Moravian Book Shop.
Photo courtesy of Mercantile
